Born Under a Wandering Star
by RunAwayMissMay
Summary: Imprinting. It's every wolf's dream and nightmare. But what of the imprint? What of the sacrifices that both people must make in order for something ordained to work? And since when did love, in all it's forms, become synonymous with sacrifice? Laura is a free spirit with 'no attachments'. It's what she lives by. And not even an interesting boy with an open face can change that.
1. Chapter 1

Laura's car spluttered beneath her. Sometimes, when the wind was whipping against her face like this, and you could taste rain brewing, she couldn't help but laugh. Pure exaltation. That's what a road legal car, freedom and 9 months left on her visa tasted like. She came to a cross roads.

She did have a destination, but it didn't matter when or how she got there. She was content with choosing her direction at random.

Left, she decided. The ancient piece of crap that she rode turned, and, unbeknownst to Laura, she entered Quileute territory. Not that it mattered at the time.

Laura was almost 21, and had now been on the move for 3 years. She'd hit 36 countries and had less than a grand in her bank account. Nothing mattered; just the brewing rain and the sound of wind past her ears.

In months to come, Laura would deny feeling anything special about her choices that day. She passed 19 turnoffs, but, as if by fate, took none of them. She had exactly a 0.007% chance of picking the exact combination of roads that landed her in the car park above La Push beach. And of course, an Australian amateur surfer could never resist a beach.

Sporting a bikini that was never going to be warm enough for Washington, and enough goose bumps to have all poultry jealous, she pulled her yellow piece-of-shit board out of the car. Most things she owned fell under the category "piece-of-shit"; everything was temporary. Even her car. The old Toyota pickup was on its last legs, and had, in sprawling red, the word "Harold" scarring its side. The back seats had been ripped up to make way for the single mattress that took up most of the car. It was covered with pillows and duvets that looked as eclectic as they did unsanitary. A small camping stove and iconic back pack were tucked away to the left of the 'bed', whilst books, food and a guitar case commandeered the rest. All in all, it looked like someone was living in the car; some one small, female and with a soft spot for novels by Marcus Zuzak. At least it was an honest car.

The car park Laura had pulled up in was empty; the dreary afternoon and imminent drizzle driving away anyone sane. Plus, the fact that temperatures were on the south side of freezing probably contributed. A sane person would have put on a wetsuit, but Laura wasn't rational. She was impulsive and she had lived in Britain. In her head, after the heat of Australia, that practically made her an Eskimo. She grabbed a towel and bounced down the cold steps towards the grey strip of beach below her. She didn't know what beach this was, or even where she was, but the break was clean, and her hair was almost completely devoid of salt. That just wouldn't do.

Laura wasn't beautiful. She barely overcame plain, though you couldn't notice it after she started talking. What she lacked in looks, with her brown eyes and frizzy mess of hair, she more than made up for in enthusiasm. Her best friend said she overflowed with vitality, and that is how she wanted to be described. She was bright and brash, too confident for her own good, and more than a little odd. But, again, you couldn't tell until she opened her mouth.

And Seth didn't know that. All Seth saw was a slightly chubby girl in a black bikini practically skipping down the steps towards the ocean.

Next to him, Paul scoffed, following his gaze.

"She'll freeze- I give her 20 minutes in the water tops". Tall and imposing, Seth, Paul and Embry walked along the beach. In times like this Seth begrudged the fact he wasn't allowed to go to school. Since the vampire population died down, the pack was growing increasingly bored. Seth could feel it on patrols, or when they went for runs. There was a malcontent from every wolf without an imprint, as they grew- for lack of a better word- bored.

"I'd bet on that- you can tell she's a pale face- probably has no idea how freezing the water is." Embry grinned over at Paul. They both wore their standard cut off jeans, kicking up sand as they made their way up the beach.

Seth didn't answer them, but grinned back. He was always grinning. That was his job. Still, his eyes traced the path of the girl in the distance as she crashed herself into the first wave. She was paddling now, diving under white foam and breaking the surface again with a flick of her hair. There was something undeniably attractive about a girl surfing. They weren't far off where she'd entered the water now, and Seth sat down with a thump to watch her. The other two joined him. They talked about silly things for a while, but Seth was still watching the girl with interest. She just sat out the back of the break, her legs tracing circles in the water next to her. He could hear her humming.

It was a blessing and a curse; the super hearing that accompanied being a wolf. Sometimes it meant Seth heard things he didn't want to, like when Leah invited a boy home, or the widow down the street cried. But at times like this, when there was a surfer girl humming the Harry Potter Theme tune to herself and the ocean, it was a nice thing to have. He was grinning at the sound when it broke off. The girl turned her board and paddled frantically towards the shore, the faint swelling of a wave forming behind her. As it rose, she rose with it. She jumped to her feet and the board slid along the wave, up and down the wall of water. She wasn't a great surfer, but you could see the flash of her grin even from the distance. Her legs bent and pushed against the fibre glass. Whilst she may have been arguably bigger than the conventional idea of beautiful (as Embry had already pointed out, though in less polite terms), it was impossible to deny that she was strong. Her legs were strong enough to twist the board over the crest of water, and her arms were stockier than normal for her size. The wave crashed around the girl and she fell with it, again breaking the surface next to her board with a grin and flick of her hair. The boys were quiet now, watching her paddle back out to her position. She kept humming, though now it was a bastardized version "Here Comes the Sun". They stayed like that for an hour until she emerged dripping from the water.

It was partially out of interest, but mostly because the alternative was returning to Sam and Emily's- and they had read his mind. He wanted to be left _alone._

Laura was shivering. The break was good, and her board would live to surf another day, but she was freezing. She rushed up the beach to where her towel was dumped, conscious of the three teenagers who had been watching her surf. It was impossible to pretend she wasn't trying to pull in her stomach, or stop her legs from wobbling so unattractively, but realistically these wouldn't make a difference. Nor should they have to, she though. I don't need to be skinny for strangers. Laura was always momentarily bold like that. But it faded sometimes. Times like this, when the tall, tanned teenagers were heading towards her. She wrapped the towel around her. It was cold. Too cold.

She turned away from them to pick up her board.

"You surf well" She turned and looked up to meet the eyes of the boy that addressed her. Though he could hardly be called a boy. He towered over her, all muscles and tanned skin. He was too big for Laura's liking. Big guys scared her, because she was only around 65% sure she could beat them in a fight if need be. He was pretty though. He had short dark hair and perfect skin. He was all russet brown and autumn colours. He was also shirtless and not even sporting stipples; which wasn't fair considering that Laura's teeth were chattering uncontrollably.

She grinned at him and his two mates. They all looked similar, although the guy who'd approached her was by far the plainest. He had a kind of open innocence and naivety about his face that, while endearing, detracted from the fact he could have almost been described as sexy.

"Thank you, but at risk of sounding like a stereotypical bashful girl, you should see the surfers back home. They are practically Gods." Laura always talked like that. Like something wasn't worth saying if it was under three syllables and didn't have an opening for more questions.

The boy was looking at her a little oddly. His eyes were deeper all of a sudden. They were more focused and intense. His jaw was held stiffly. The four of them stood in uncomfortable silence for a moment, before one of the other boys, watching his friend with a bemused expression, asked the obvious question.

"So where is home?" He had the stock standard American drawl. Laura only noticed it because it stood out so sharply against her British-Australian hybrid.

"Australia mate." She cocked an eyebrow before picking up her board. "I live on the West Coast. Everyone surfs there. " She smiled and turned to make for the stairs. Normally Laura would have jumped on a chance for conversation. For a start, she was a back packer and she had been on the road alone for a good 3 months. This was how travelling worked. Talk to randoms, find places to stay, get them to buy you food in exchange for sexual favours. That was the drill. But, right at this moment, Laura was freezing, and a tall boy that she was only 65% she could beat in a fight was staring at her with something that resembled adoration. It was by far the scariest thing that had happened to her in a while.

She hit the first step when she realised they were following her.

Seth could feel everything that held him in motion cut him loose. He was flying, and she was his wind. Her brown eyes were suddenly the most beautiful he'd ever seen. She was still chubby, and, now that he saw her up close, her teeth were slightly crooked, but she was enchanting. She was the still point of his chaos. He didn't even realise how full his heart or mind could be until now. And now it was just full with her. He could smell her; he even felt his permanent grin slide of his face. She smelt of salt and seawater and cinnamon. It was intoxicating. He couldn't think straight.

Often Seth had wondered about imprinting. Sometimes he thought it would be a serious inconvenience. Paul was constantly fighting with Rachel about leaving, and Seth didn't think anything could make him consider that kind of choice. But at other times, when he heard the thoughts of his fellow wolves, or saw how sickingly ecstatic they were just to be with their respective people, he felt a pang of jealousy. To love someone so devoutly must be a lovely thing.

But it wasn't just a lovely thing. Seth was on fire. His head was lighter and brighter and swirling with images of the salty girl that cocked an eyebrow in front of him. It was better than lovely. He'd found his universe on Earth.

Paul's questions didn't register.


	2. Chapter 2

Paul's questions didn't register, but her answer did. She had a lilt to her words, and it seemed to change between English and Australian with each syllalble. She had a dry voice, if it had been anyone else I would have thought it harsh. But that was the beauty of imprinting (or the curse as Seth had always previously thought) you were suddenly in love with everything about the person; even, or especially, the person's flaws. Seth wasn't aware of it, given his limited experience with girls of real consequence, but really imprinting was just like love. Only much more intoxicating and instant; and thus all the more dangerous.

The girl turned, wrapped in a towel and carrying her board and headed towards the steps. Seth could see her shivering, and the weight of it all rooted him to the spot for a few moments. Embry had finally caught on, and watched with a clearly puzzled and anxious expression. They made no attempt to stop him when he followed her.

"A long way from home then." Seth was following her up the stairs now

"I suppose it is, though fortunately it's not the furthest." Laura grinned over her shoulder at the boy. He was staring up at her like she was the most fascinating thing in the world. Laura declared him officially odd in her mind (which only made him more interesting). Perhaps it was the aforementioned open innocence of his face, or the fact that his voice shook when he had addressed her, like she had made him nervous, but he was undeniably interesting. Laura hated shit like that; the idea of fateful meetings or of instant attraction went against her very way of living; no attachments. That was the motto. That wasn't to say she was a closed person. Laura wore her heart on her sleeve, voiced every trivial thought and showed every emotion on her face. She sucked at poker. She was the epitome of an open book. Laura was the type of girl to fall in almost-love regularly, but never let that supposed love or the people that invoked in hold her any one place. She'd left her family, she'd left her best friend and she'd left any place that had the audacity to declare itself her home. Laura was a free spirit and she had no regret in that. Distance didn't diminish comraderie in her opinion. She still loved people in every one of her homes, just from afar now.

But Seth didn't know this yet. He didn't even know her name.

"So are you just passing through?" He hoped not.

The girl grinned again. She had white teeth and her whole face lifted when she smiled. Seth felt like he had it already memorised; like he could replay it a thousand times in his head. She had laughter lines already, but she couldn't have been much older than Seth. It was hard to tell; she was deceptively small.

"Maybe. I'm not sure. To be honest I'm not even sure where I am." She said it like it was the best thing she'd ever believed; as if being lost in a foreign country was her idea of Paris. (Seth didn't know it, but it was.)

"How can you not know where you are?" They had reached the top of the stairs now, the grey sea rolling out in front of them. It was quite pretty in a bleak way. When the sun was shining, La Push could like magic. But sunshine was rare in Washington, and, in a way, Seth preferred the washed out greys of the sky and sea in rain.

"Easily. I know I am in America and that's about it." The girl stood in front of her car, fumbling around underneath the wheel rut for her keys. Seth almost rolled his eyes, but he couldn't. The fact she trusted an unknown place to be honest enough that she could leave her keys at the car was, if anything, endearing. He was aware it was irrational.

Paul and Embry were still standing behind him, leaning now against the wooden rails that ran around the car park. Seth knew that they were listening as intently as he was. Imprinting was a big deal. For the whole pack. They shared each other's thoughts, and feelings, but more than that they were brothers. For someone to find their 'soul mate'; their imprint, was a cause for celebration in the whole pack. They all wanted to see each other happy.

"Well should I help you out or would you like to live in ignorance?" Seth tried to sound nonchalant; he tried to sound like he wasn't planning ways to make her stay, but even to his ears his voice sounded strained and uncomfortable. He could feel his friends roll their eyes behind them. They understood what he really was asking. He was asking what would make her happiest. But she didn't know that.

The girl opened her car boot. She was obviously living in it. It smelt like her, like there was salt and cinnamon crammed into her books and pillow case.

"Hmm, whilst ignorance is bliss, I suppose I better know where I am. I have a final destination you see, just no idea how to get there." She smiled at him again. Her teeth were still chattering as she grabbed another towel.

"Well then this is La Push, and you're in Washington. And my name is Seth, and this is Paul and Embry." He didn't even turn to look at them. He couldn't. There was a beautiful girl in front of him and to take his eyes away would be sacrilege of some sort.

The girl frowned slightly. She bit her lip.

"This is La Push?" She pronounced the name as if it were French. Seth nodded. "Shit. I'm 6 months too fucking early." Seth had no idea what she was talking about, but Embry had scoffed at her profanities.

Laura swore a lot. And right now she had a problem. She was 6 months too early. She shrugged.

"Sorry," She'd forgotten the boys were still standing there. It was cold. She really wished they'd leave so she could get changed and find the nearest place with heating. "My names Laura, it's lovely to meet you." She dumped her board unceremoniously on the floor and reached out her hand. The boy called Seth shook it. Perhaps it was because she was so cold, but his hand was alarmingly warm. As in it could have passed itself off for a hot water bottle. He had a firm hand shake and his hands were calloused. She liked that. It was an odd peeve of hers to dislike people with unnaturally smooth hands. Her own hands were bruised and her knuckles scarred. That was how she liked it. It showed character a boyfriend once said.


	3. Chapter 3

The other two boys, Embry and Paul, stepped forward and shook her hand. They too were abnormally warm.

"Man you guys are hot," The words left Laura's lips before the sentence fully registered. She blushed. Paul raised his eyebrows. "Not like... I meant temperature wise. But both apply I suppose." Laura winked though she felt flustered. They were hot- in both meanings. And there was no harm in admitting that. She had never understood why someone would be bashful. Sure she got nervous, and was socially awkward and embarrassing sometimes, but if someone was pretty or kind or you liked them, they deserved to know. That was the way the world was supposed to work. She was an idealist.

"Um ... thank you?" Seth was obviously taken back by her forwardness. She turned back to her board and put it in the giant, colourful sock that served as a case. She rolled her eyes, hidden from the boys view. Why did people always get uncomfortable when she pointed out the obvious? And they were obviously attractive. She went to slide the board into the car when she felt someone else take the board from her hands. "Here I'll help." Seth placed the heavy board into the side of her car, sliding it into it's place. She scowled. In Laura's head, chivalry, although an admirable trait, was the predecessor for chauvinism.

"Thanks, but I can do it myself." Her words had a bit more bite than usual, mainly because she felt the need to establish her own independence. Laura fancied herself a bit of a feminist. Seth again seemed taken aback and stepped back to his original spot. He had been quite close for a moment there. Laura could almost feel the heat radiating off him. Which brought her back to the most pressing problem. She was fucking cold. "So are you guys locals?" They didn't appear to be leaving, and Laura needed an escape route. She needed warmth.

"Yeah lived here our whole lives." Seth seemed to be the spokesperson, which struck Laura as odd considering he was obviously the most nervous out of all of them. She hoped that wasn't because of her. She was very aware of the fact that she normally wasn't the type of girl to make boys nervous. Except in a fight. Then Laura could make anyone nervous.

"Great! You wouldn't happen to know where I could get food would you... Preferably with heating?" She was back in the boot of her car, rifling through her back pack, pulling out her ripped and filthy jeans, knee high socks and as many long sleeve shirts as she could find.

"Yeah, there's the diner just round the corner." Seth was definitely nervous. His hands were in his pockets like they didn't know where else to be. Laura grinned. "We can show you where it is if you want?" Her grinned widened. Great. Because she was determined to put Seth at ease. Or at least make his friends as uncomfortable as he was.

"That sounds great! Could you give me five minutes to put on clothes?" The boys nodded and politely returned to the stair railing, looking away from the car. Laura pulled on her clothes. She never looked good anymore, and nothing she owned was suitable for this kind of cold. It was the downfall of travel; experience comes at the expense of fashion. At least now she was warm, in dark jeans, boots, and a cardigan. She scraped a brush through her salt encrusted hair, and then gave up. It would dry hideously, but it was nothing a bun couldn't fix.

That was how she returned to the boys, dry and hideously dressed.

She was beautiful, Seth thought as the four of them walked to the diner; Laura practically skipped next to them.

"So what should I know about La Push?" It was the third question she'd asked. She already knew they were all between 17 and 20. She already knew that we had always lived there; and that our families had always lived there. We already knew she was 20 (3 years older than Seth; a fact he tried not to show bothered him), and that she was originally Australian, but had moved to London, where her "lesbian grandmother who could speak 5 languages and loved herbal tea" lived. And that she had never stayed in a place for more than 6 months since. We already knew that she had two older brothers, and that they still lived at home. She talked a lot, with such conviction that it made every bit of information seem essentially important.

Paul was doing most of the talking. Seth could hardly form words for the moment. His head was still reeling, and every time she skipped parts of her bounced that made it difficult to think straight.

"It's a reservation," Laura looked up at him expectantly. Her eyes were so round when she was curious. "It means it's Quileute land; our council runs it and it belongs to the tribe." Laura nodded, though it was obvious this meant nothing to her. She caught my look and frowned.

"Ok, so I have no idea what that means. I've only been here three months and I can't afford 3G anymore. So I know nothing. Well not nothing, but nothing." She was picking leaves off the trees they passed, tearing them into smaller and smaller pieces and leaving a scattered trail behind them. She was still grinning, like the cold weather and prospect of knowing nothing delighted her.

"Seth can explain it best." Seth knew Paul was throwing him a bone, but his tongue wasn't working very well right at that moment. He shrugged.

Laura cocked an eyebrow.

"Brilliant explanation, I understand perfectly now." She was still grinning, but her eyes were all his now. She still had salt sticking to her eyelashes.

Seth grinned, "It just means its native lands." She nodded, but he knew he hadn't helped much. He scrambled for another subject. "So what did you mean you're 6 months too early." It was obviously a good question, because Laura dropped all her shredded leaves and her smile widened.

"That depends on how long this walk is. Do you want the short, medium or long version?" The diner was in sight. It wasn't fancy, but it was La Push's only place to eat out. The boys never went there. They ate too much, and between patrols and working with new wolves, sometimes the time it took to eat out wasn't worth the effort.

Paul and Embry shot a glance at Seth, who looked at them purposefully.

"Well you'll have to give any version to Seth, because we both have work." By work they meant, they had to transform into giant wolves and patrol for other mythological beings. But that probably wouldn't be a good thing to tell Laura on a first meeting. It probably wouldn't be a good thing to tell anyone.

Laura looked a little perturbed but she grinned at the two boys again.

"Well then, it was lovely to meet you and thank you for showing me the way." She looked unsure what to do, and then stuck out her hand. Paul and Embry almost laughed at her, but I knew they wouldn't dare with me glaring at them over Laura's shoulder. They knew how this worked. You didn't insult an imprint. You walked on ice until they had been told, because imprints were fragile and they were suddenly the world of one of your brothers. It was the unspoken law.

"It was nice meeting you. Hopefully we'll see you around." The words were weighted. They hoped _for Seth's sake_ they'd see her around.

Laura watched the two boys retreating backs. Seth stood there awkwardly. Laura could almost taste his discomfort. She wasn't doing well in putting him at ease.

"Hey, I hate to be presumptuous, but it is a long story and one I like to tell- well I like to brag about anyway- so I can I buy you dinner. It'd be nice to have someone to talk to." Laura felt gushy. He was very attractive, and he was apparently made nervous by her. It was a nice feeling. Not many boys were made nervous by her, unless it was in a fight. She couldn't argue with the fact that she felt drawn to him. Not once had the possible dangers of following him in an unknown place crossed her mind. He felt safe.

Seth looked flattered, and a smile broke out across his face. He looked so happy; with his cheeks rising to gather beneath his sparkling eyes. He did have nice eyes. "I'd love to."

Laura grinned back at him, and for a moment they were both quiet, simultaneously admiring and memorising each other's faces. Laura was only doing this because she fancied herself an observer of the human experience. Seth had other reasons. Reasons like fate and love. Laura broke the silence. She did that. She didn't like silence. She was a hard core extrovert, which had sometimes proved a problem.

"Except you don't have a shirt, or shoes." Seth grinned and ducked into the tree line next to her. He emerged mere moments later fully dressed. Laura raised both her eyebrows.

Seth blushed. "I left some of my stuff there the other day."

"You left clothes in the middle of the forest?" He nodded. Laura, contrary to her usual curiosity, didn't question this. She trusted him; inexplicably and foolishly.


	4. Chapter 4

Seth watched her across the table from him. Laura gestured wildly every time she spoke. And she made him laugh. Her hair was starting to dry in an erratic manner, wavy and tangled. At one point she caught him looking at it, and she blushed. She had barely stopped speaking since they had entered the diner, and yet she wasn't inattentive. She asked him about his family, and gave ample opportunity for him to engage in conversation. It just seemed Seth's tongue had stopped working. All he could do was stare at her. It was like he had never seen a girl's face before, and now was presented with such beauty that he physically could not comprehend it.

"I know its wild, but you're going to have to ignore that. I have been on the road for about 4 months now. And proper showers are rare." She winked at him and tugged her unruly mane into a low bun. Wisps escaped to fall around her face. Seth gulped. She looked at him expectantly, and he realized this was his chance to initiate conversation. He struggled to find words, to articulate anything- but his mouth was dry and his head still spinning from the rearrangement of his entire world perception. She smiled at him.

"So what are you gonna order? Please say it's something huge, because I'm absolutely ravenous, and then you can't judge me without revealing you're a misogynist." Seth grinned, finally remembering how to speak English.

"Never fear, I am a teenage boy and a large one at that."

"You can say that again, if I wasn't 65% sure I could beat you in a fight I'd be intimidated by you." He raised an eyebrow.

"You're 65% sure you could beat in a fight?" She smiled at him over her menu and winked.

"Well I was." He nodded and returned to his menu. "Now I'm about 80% sure."

"And how do you reason this? You're not exactly the biggest girl. Couldn't I just sit on you?" She laughed at that.

"I shan't reveal all my secrets Mr. Seth. Where would the mystery be?" Yet she sounded confident. Seth could hardly look away, as she bit her lip. She looked up, and he hurriedly hid his staring to look at the menu.

They both ordered, and Laura smiled at him again. Seth wasn't normally taciturn or quiet, but there was something intimidating about talking in front of some one he had just decided he loved more than life itself. He eventually found words; although they were clumsily spoken.

"So how and why are you early to La Push?" The boy across from Laura asked. He had been watching her Laura noticed with glee. He was very pretty. And, whilst nervous, he seemed nice. Sometimes people don't have to say much to let you know they are kind. Seth oozed tangible kindness. His very presence insinuated gentleness. Laura didn't meet much of that in her world. She liked this question. Laura was naturally very arrogant, and the opportunity to brag was never passed up with her.

Laura had been on the road since she was 17. Having graduated from Australian high school, she moved to live in London. She planned just to take a gap year before going to university, but after working 4 jobs for the first 4 months to earn enough money to hit Europe she changed her mind. One of her jobs happened to be at an Italian restaurant in Islington.  
"And that's where I met Jess. Jess was two years older than me, but I think we're soul mates. She had dropped out of school to focus on her art, and then discovered she was shit at it. And we decided we would hit Europe together for the rest of the year before I headed back home to do Uni." But that wasn't how it went. The two of them ended up being chased out of France by a group of nuns. "We had accidently mistaken the nunnery for the next pub- it was 3am and we could barely see straight we were so wasted. Thinking that perhaps the place was closed, Jess," Laura had to pause she was laughing so hard. Seth watched on amused, "decided that she would strip for me on the table top. Only it wasn't a pub, and it wasn't a table top. She was dancing…" Laura could barely get it out. "It was the emergency altar. And she was down to just her bra, with me cheering her on- vodka bottle in hand, when in burst 6 angry nuns all yelling at us in French. And I can speak French, but not when its 3am and I'm drunk. So we were chased from France." They stayed in Amsterdam for 3 months, though Laura stayed ambiguous about that. "We never resorted to prostitution, only took mildly illegal drugs and were sober at least 60% of the time." Seth raised an eyebrow. Laura winked at him. "Ok, it wasn't strictly prostitution considering no money changed hands." She ignored Seth's panicked face, and laughed. "Jess found a guy who actually liked her crappy art, so we stayed long enough for her exhibition. Which was, remarkably, not a complete failure." By this time their prescribed year was dwindling. They rushed through Italy, Greece, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Spain and Portugal. Then the year was up. "But see, by this time my Spanish was getting much better and we still had a decent amount of money from the exhibition in Amsterdam. And the idea of leaving Jess wasn't appealing even in the slightest. And our wanderlust was insatiable." So the two of them continued across Europe and hit the Middle East. "We stole a rowing boat from a drunken asshole at a bar in Denmark and crossed the Baltic Sea to Sweden. Well," She grinned a little sheepishly. "We rowed half of the way and then got a lift from a diving expedition that was deprived of female company. We just pushed the rowing boat toward Denmark with a graffiti note on the side telling the owner that "We were bad karma."" They went up through Norway, Sweden and Finland in a blur of stories. Laura spoke fast, she skipped from story to story- how salted fish tasted, how Laura lost her small toe to frost bite because they couldn't find accommodation. "We were starting to run low on money by the time we made it to Russia. Like really low. We started to sleep in the toilets at train stations. And then I heard this story about a river on the border of Estonia where there was a bore wave big and sudden you could surf it for hours. So we stowed away on a train, and stopped just outside of the border. Russia is freezing a lot of the time, but we were in the height of summer, so the ice had thawed. And this town," She grinned. "I've never fallen in love as fast as I did there. I have fallen in love four times in my life. And there was a boy in Gdov whom I loved quicker and more awfully than anyone else. We lived on his couch for 3 months. I had been studying Russian, but the language barrier was awful. I don't think he understood what I meant when I tried to express how I felt. I butchered it and ended up rejecting him. He was heartbroken, and all the while the bore wave was growing. See a bore wave is when the tide changes on a river, and because of the narrow banks and depth of the water, it forms a wave. They can be huge, and this one was. It was in June of our second year travelling and this bore wave was one of the largest on record. The whole town knew what I was going to try and do. So I grabbed my board and paddled out into the middle of the river. Jess took everyone's bets. You could feel the water pulling backwards and upwards; it was deep and it was the strongest I'd ever felt. The wave came thundering towards us, and I paddled frantically to catch it." Laura seemed to be lifting, every breath made her bigger as the story reached its climax. "And then the wave hit me. I was off my board in a second, dragged under the wave. Nearly drowned. The town's people thought it was the funniest thing they had ever seen. They laughed so hard they forgot to collect their bet money and Jess and I fled to Estonia with full pockets." She winked again.

Dear God, Seth knew he was in love. She was clever and interesting and fun. His heart was aching and he couldn't keep his eyes off her hands; her face; her mouth. He didn't notice the fact she monopolized the conversation, or bragged. Once you love someone, they are perfect.


	5. Chapter 5

...  
"Besides you haven't told me why you're too early." Seth picked up his knife and fork and tucked into the meal in front of him. He always ate big meals, it was part of the werewolf disease. However Laura's meal almost rivalled his own. She had fish and chips, and paid no heed to the old rule of "not talking when you're mouth is full".  
"Well, after some considerable heartbreak in Egypt." She waved off Seth's raised eyebrow. "It's a long story, not entirely mine got tell." She paused to chop her fish. "We discovered super cheap flights to Mexico, so we took them. Jess's needed a complete change I think, and, although it took ad nacreous amount if our dwindling funds, we'd agreed America should be next. Anyway we ended up in Mexico, which, if it wasn't for the company of Jess and my unwavering positivity," again the wink, "would have been an awful experience. We were robbed, beat up and decided, rather hurriedly, to hit the states. So we crossed the border. Now, the thing to understand is that Jess and I have barely been apart for three years, but that's not to say we agree on all things. I was poorer than her, and knew I had to save enough to afford a flight back to Australia eventually. So I thought we should get a job, but Jess didn't want that. She wanted to see LA, and New York and Vegas. But see I'm not 21 firstly, and secondly, I came here when I was 16 for a month, so I was a little more content to miss the iconic sites this time round. So we decided to go get drunk and find a solution. We were in a bar, where the beer was too expensive, but the guys were desperate enough to buy it for us. Needless to say we were rather drunk." Seth stored this away, as Laura appeared to be drunk or 'tripping' in quite a few of her stories. It disturbed her a little, because all form of self destruction were so at odds with the packs way of thinking. Back before Seth had split from Sam's pack, they weren't allowed to drink. Nor go clubbing or anything of that sort, because there was always eh threat of phasing. Even now, under Jacob- who was much more lenient- those sort of actions were frowned upon. The wolves weren't meant to sleep around, or womaniser or party. They had to be ready at all times, and they had to be careful to keep everyone around them safe. It was fair. Seth had never begrudge it like some of the others had. But hearing Laura- who seemed to glorify in this self destruction, Seth suddenly wondered what it would be like to be that free. Laura seemed grounded, she just exhibited a different kind of freedom. She was just free; free to make good and bad decisions, and for revel in both. His thoughts returned to Laura's story. "So we decided that we would split up. We had a year on our visas, and we both had phones; so we would split up and meet somewhere in 9 months." She grinned, licking a finger to scrape up some of the salt on her plate. "But where? We'd never find each other in New York; we needed somewhere small. So we pinned a map up on the dart board and threw a dart. It took at ew tries, but eventually we hit the board and the dart landed here. La Push, Washington. And so we shook hands, kissed each other good night and I walked one way and she walked the other. And that was 4 months ago." Laura smiled at him, suddenly satisfied.  
Once again Seth admired her freedom.

"So what about you? Since I've bored you with my life story, what about yours?" Seth had recovered now. He could talk, but he didn't want to take a moment up that could be spent learning more about her. He shrugged.  
"Nothing to tell really." She raised an eyebrow.  
"Bullshit. 17 years and you have nothing to tell? No way. Everyone has stories, and you have something in your eye that tells me yours are good ones." She was leaning forward now, and for a moment Seth had her eyes completely. Anyone look on would write them off as love stuck teenagers at first, but there was a tangible intensity in each others gaze that transcended age. She was drinking in his eyes, the dark specks around his eyes that made her curious; and he was drinking in her. She leant back, breaking the spell. Seth gulped again. Laura seemed powerful. She wasn't any or bashful or reserved; she was wide open for the world and there was a quiet strength that dared the world to take advantage of this openness. She was naive, Seth thought. Even though Laura had seen more of the world than he ever had, there was a part of her that was still blissfully hopeful . He wondered when he had lost that part of himself. It must have been in the incidence in the Volturi when he realised him, even as a werewolf, was completely helpless against such a force. The blatant exposure of ones mortality does a lot to a mans innocence. Or perhaps it was when he first felt Jacob's imprinting. When he realised that he too could lose everything he was sure of in a split second; that he was insanely vulnerable because his life now depended on the love of someone else. Those would make good stories, Seth though. But he could not tell them.  
"I don't know what to say. I've lived here my whole life, we don't have many adventures." He was lying. They had more incredible and deadly and wild adventures than even Laura's stories. He wanted to tell her. But he couldn't. She was watching him intently again. Her plate was empty and she pushed it aside to lean forward on her elbows.  
"I think you're lying." He gulped.  
"We'll I shan't reveal all my secrets Ms.?" Seth suddenly realised he didn't know her last name. Or even if she was a Ms.  
"Ms Sampson, and who am I addressing?" She smiled at him, but there was a slight hardness in the line of her mouth. Perhaps she resented him for not returning her openness. Seth wanted to, but how do you explain that you shape shift into a wolf? Or that you hunt vampires for a living?"  
"Sir Clearwater." Suddenly Seth remembered a story from before all this. Back when he was just Seth. "Would you like to hear the story of how I became a knight?"  
"I'd love to." Laura looked warmer at the idea of reciprocated conversation. Seth grinned.  
"So every year we get ice. Lots of ice. I suppose you never got that in Australia." She shook her head, cocking her head slightly. Seth had to remember what he was thinking, because the sleeve of her top had started to slip down and her collarbone was showing. "We'll I have an older sister, and one day when we were younger we decided to make a sleigh. This was back before she was bitch." Laura grinned and rolled her eyes. "So we built this amazing, and deadly, sleigh track, and Leah, my older sister, decided to go first. So I pushed her off when I noticed a car coming. I started running as fast as I could to push Leah out the way. In my mind I was flash or lightning. Anyway I reached Leah just in time and pushed h out of the way and straight into our neighbours plant pits. So somehow Leah managed to defy physics and get her head stuck inside one of the pots. So she stands up with a pot stuck perfectly on her head, and I decide to pull it off." By this time Laura was grinning and had ordered the two of them tea. Seth never drank the stuff, but Laura had ordered something called 'chamomile' and the idea of it made her so happy he had just agreed with her. "We'll as you can tell I'm immensely strong." Seth tried out the wink again.  
"And modest too obviously" Laura rolled her eyes, but she was smiling.  
"Obviously. So anyway, I cracked the pot so that Leah had a perfect crown on her head. We rushed home, both crying and mum said she looked just like a queen. So Leah named me her knight for saving her." Laura grinned so hard her face seemed split in two.  
"See I knew you had stories."  
If only she knew, Seth thought.


	6. Chapter 6

Chamomile turned out to be liquid flowers. Laura sighed as she took a gulp. She looked tired; beautiful and slightly sea swept, but tired.  
"So what are you going to do now?" Seth dreaded the answer. If she said leave, he'd die. All he needed was time; forever would be preferably, but he could settle for any amount of time. She smiled at him; not the same grin as before. Now she seemed less energetic, and suddenly more introversive, like she was noticing the world in a quieter way. Seth tried to take note of this- the seemingly fickle manner in which she seemed to react to things.  
"I'm quite low on cash so I might stay in the general area. I'll make my way up to DC and explore round there." She but her lip. "Actually thinking about it I'm really really low on cash. I might just stay here until I have to meet up with Jess. Do you think that's a cop out?" She seemed genuinely concerned that perhaps she wasn't being adventurous enough. Seth almost scoffed- she'd ridden her bike following the Mexican border; she'd helped build her car with an old biker with lung cancer, and all these stories were only brushing the surface he was sure. In four months she'd gained more stories than some would in there entire meagre life.  
"No way, I think it's smart. Plus you could explore here." She lazily smiled at him, nursing the teacup in her hands. "This is Quilette land, and we have lots you could learn." She smiled at him again. It was late now. "If you're interested that is." She put down her cup. Seth could see the steam twisting up from it. She watched it too. For a moment they were stuck examining the steam.  
"If I'm insensitive, and I often am, please forgive me. But do you still follow all of that? Are the legends and elders and the council still followed and respected?" Seth smiled. This was a good start. She was interested, and she was intelligent. Seth was almost willing to be hopeful.  
"Yes very much so." She nodded and they both went back to their tea.

Laura refused to let Seth pay- not that he could have given he had no money.  
"So am I allowed to walk you home?" Seth was shy. He didn't want her to get scared and run. She seemed the kind of person who would be scared away by too much interest. She wasn't shy, but she liked to keep things light. She could discuss things that were deep, and she wasn't afraid to scratch the surface, but connections seemed to scare her. Seth had always been immensely perceptive.

"If by home you mean back to my car- then sure." They started walking back along the dark street. Seth had lost track of time with Laura. He always would. He'd blink an hours would go past.  
"So what should I be doing while I'm here? I'm gonna need a job and clothes. Definitely clothes. Everything I own is torn or filthy to the point of no return." Laura was walking close to Seth's side, she had pulled her jumpers around her and Seth could see her skin pimple into goose bumps.  
"Well there are some shops in Port Angeles which is nearby? And you could apply around here?"  
"Where's Port Angeles?" The tree lines shuffled ominously, and Laura edged a little closer to Seth. He knew there was nothing to fear in the forest- he would've smelt it, but he still felt a kind of pleasure out of having her close, so he didn't feel the need to say anything.  
"It's about an hour away. If you want," again Seth felt the weight of caring too much. How do you show you love someone to someone who is scared of commitment and connection? "If you want... I could show you?"  
She looked up at him gratefully. She was tired and soft. Seth couldn't help but watch the way her lips twitched up into a tint smile. He had never been so aware of someone's lips before. Every inch of her was beautiful. And he could see and feel every inch of her. He wanted every inch of her. He craved her.  
"That'd be nice."


	7. Chapter 7

...  
"And where have you been?" Even though Sam was trying to stop phasing so he could age with Emily, their house would always be the packs meeting ground. Even with Jacob as the alpha now the two packs assimilated, Sam's house would never be empty of the pack. So when Seth arrived there he expected a few people. It was late, approaching midnight and he had missed his patrol. What he didn't expect was the pack in its almost entirety to be sitting around the living room, eating enough food to feed a small army. Even Renesme, Kim and Emily were there.  
"I.. Uh... Shouldn't someone be patrolling right now?" It was strange, Seth thought, how all of a sudden safety was paramount. The idea of Laura in her car without a patrol going on caused him something akin to panic.  
Paul grinned. "Embry and Quil are doing the runs." He turned to the group. "See I told you he imprinted. Now suddenly safety's an issue." He winked at the group most of whom we're grinning. Except Leah of course. Leah didn't do grinning.  
"Don't tease Paul." Kim was always the quiet one. Paul grinned across at her, where she sat nestled into Jared.  
"So tell us. Because I'm curious and Alice won't tell me what's going on." Grown from a child now, Renesme was the stunningly beautiful. But all of a sudden her beauty seemed too pale. She didn't have the same bunched cheeks as Laura did. Or eyebrows that seemed to buck and curl by their own accord, offering a gateway into Laura's feelings.  
"I don't know. She's..." Seth knew he had to tell them. He knew they were curious- because this meant Laura was now the packs sister. She was now one of them. "... She's the most terrifying person I've ever talked to." He slumped down next to Colin on the sofa. Leah rolled her eyes. "You can scoff all you want Leah, but I literally could barely speak a word the entire time we were at dinner."  
"You've already been to dinner- shit you move fast." Brady slapped Seth on his back, and the wolves around him rolled their eyes. They were all grinning, but Seth felt a little uneasy. You didn't automatically love your imprint, though that was the usual side effect. Often- in fact always- the wolf couldn't help himself. He gave his heart completely and suddenly. And Seth was all too aware that his heart no longer resided in his chest. He'd left it in a car in the beach car park.  
"Wouldn't congratulate him just yet- she asked him. Laura's obviously gonna wear the pants in this." Paul always did tease. The wolves chuckled, and Renesmee turned to Paul.  
"That's always the way you imbecile." Emily nodded and Kim just smiled up at Jared. It was true. The wolves were bound to their imprints. And, given Laura was clearly the most independent, assertive person Seth had encountered in quite a while, he knew he was in for a rough time.  
"Well I asked her to Port Angeles tomorrow, so don't completely write off my masculinity." Seth grinned, throwing a nearby tea towel at Paul.  
"Oh what are you going to do there?" Jacob asked with a glint in his eye.  
Seth mumbled so no one but the wolves but they all still howled with laughter.  
"Clothes shopping."  
"Oh yeah Seth- you're masculinity personified."


	8. Chapter 8

"What do you mean you don't have Red Cross shops? If you don't have Salvos I'm leaving the country." Laura's voice was loud over the cars radio. Seth was a little terrified at the way she drove; she used her hands even when driving, and was approaching double the speed limit. When he'd commented she'd shrugged- "I'm not even sure if my license is valid here."  
Seth chuckled.  
"Fortunately we do have Salvos...more mind again why you take such offence to the idea of shopping in a normal store with new clothes." Laura rolled his eyes again. Seth had heard the rant before, but he liked the way she talked with such animation and flicked her hair when she was emphasising something. It smelt like sea salt.  
"Because a) I'm so poor the petrol to get here almost halves my bank account and b) why should old clothes go to waste!? Plus," she grinned slyly at him, not even bothering to pretend to watch the road, "I'm sure we can find you great clothes big enough for you. Salvos is a gold mine."

Seth was beginning to believe her. Laura was obviously an expert; she ran her fingers along the clothing, stopping every few metres to wrinkle her nose or grab something eagerly. She glanced over her shoulder at him, almost catching him staring at the sway of her hips. Laura seemed to like cargo boots and dresses. She wore a bright yellow dress over tights and a long sleeved shirt. She looked enchanting, if a little unusual.  
Her arms were filled with an assortment of clothing; brown boots with red stitching, a blazer that was almost as big as her, overalls, a maternity dress, and a lot of black. She'd had to force Seth to stop her buying every leather jacket in the shop. She grinned at him again. Seth should've been bored, but it was hard to when there was a girl like Laura chattering on in front of him. Every few steps she'd skip.  
"... My mum used to take me to swap meets- these giant meetings where everyone brings their junk- and we used to have competition to see who could find the ugliest or most ridiculous thing." Seth watched her eyes light up and she dumped her finds into a big duffel bag she'd grabbed. "We should play! I'll find the ugliest thing and you find the ugliest thing and the other person has to try it on!" Seth raised his eyebrows. Laura flushed. "Or not..." She looked a little embarrassed, like she'd been previously unaware of how unabashedly enthusiastic she was being. Seth liked that though. He really did.  
"Deal but we only have 2 minutes." Seth waited only long enough to see her face light up before rushing amongst the racks. He glanced at Laura apprehensively; she was a little too close to the dresses section for his liking.  
After two minutes had passed Laura approached him, triumphantly carrying a velvet wedding dress. It looked like puff pastry dipped in glitter and fur. Seth had never seen anything more hideous in his life. Laura was already laughing, no doubt at the mental image of anyone, let alone Seth's hulking figure in the monstrosity of a dress.  
He had his revenge though; revealing a 60s flapper dress complete with tassels. Seth grinned, expecting mortification, but he was wrong. He would be wrong a lot with Laura.  
"Where did you find that!? It's beautiful!? Please don't tell me you thought this was hideous?" She grabbed the dress and rushed into the changing rooms, leaving Seth to trudge behind her.

There is something intimidating and unflattering about change rooms. The light is always a pale yellow, and something about the enclosed space makes you feel bigger and uglier. And never before had this been more true than for Seth Clearwater as he pulled on the velvet wedding dress.  
He almost fell out of the cubicle door, thanking god that the store was near empty. He turned, hoping that perhaps Laura looked awful enough to alleviate some of his embarrassment. Only she didn't. The dress was loose and straight, and the tassel twisted and fell around her, and yet Laura looked beautiful. Her legs, which arguably were short and stubby, stretched out of the dress, and her muscular arms looked stark against the maroon of the dress. When replaying the memory in his head Seth would decided it was the colour that made Laura look so beautiful. It made her hair looks auburn, like there were strands of fire and gold in between the brown curls.  
She was beautiful; she was perfect; she was ... Laughing.  
Though Seth couldn't blame her.

The first time you lose yourself completely in laughter with a person, is inevitably the first time you fall in love. Love is a series of steps, and they don't always follow a pattern or idea. Sometimes the first time you cry in front of someone is the first step; or in Seth's case, the first time you lock eyes. But undoubtedly, for both Laura and Seth- to varying degrees- the first time they lost themselves in laughter was a step towards love.

Laura was done with clothing, but that seemed to mean little. She browsed the miscellaneous sections, scooping up cutlery, a kettle and old camera to place in the duffel bag. Seth watched her from the squeaky couch where he sat. She would glance at him and grin, never fully absorbed in her shopping. Until she reached the books. Bibliophiles are never hard to spot. There is a look on rapture that all share when they come into contact with literature. And Laura had it bad. She sank to the floor next to the bookcase, flicking through pages of each book before carefully setting them into the duffel bag or back on the shelf. Seth didn't think he'd ever seen anything so endearing as Laura sitting in the floor, still dressed in her flapper dress, utterly lost to the world. That was another step; recognising the beauty in a simple action. Seth couldn't know that Laura had already noted the same thing about him; that when he laughed his shoulders shook more than the rest of his body, and that the sun played tricks on the hair on his arms- turning them russet gold. She wasn't in love with him though. Love doesn't happen quickly, nor without our permission. Except in the case of wolves.

"Please tell me you're starving!?" They had finally left Salvos and Laura bounced ahead of Seth as they walked towards the City Centre. It was approaching 4 o clock, and Seth could only nod in fervent agreement. He was a wold, he was always hungry.

With Laura a meal was always a big event. She liked hours and hours to eat, and to talk. That meant that when Seth and her entered the Chinese restaurant, she paced her meals. Seth would have found this infuriating if he didn't recognise this was, in part, to prolong their time together.

Fun facts Seth learnt about Laura:  
Her favourite food would always be vegemite toast and basil beef (though never together)  
She never ever ever wanted children  
Her biggest fear was marriage  
She wasn't afraid of sharks, but for some reason deep water scared her  
Her favourite song was Edge of Seventeen by Stevie Nicks (but it changed hourly,de pending on her mood)  
She used to be really close to her Mum, but her Mum was hardest on with now ("Forgive me for sounding cruel or big headed, but I think sometimes she gets jealous. She was never brave enough to just go.")  
She liked to talk ... A lot.

Fun facts Laura learned about Seth:  
-He was a good listener.


End file.
